# **Chapter Two:
Ethan slowly opened his eyes, and everything around him was strange. The deep blue sky was unlike any he had ever seen before, and the endless emptiness that surrounded him on all sides. He felt as if he were floating in a sea of blue fog, with no ground beneath his feet or air to fill his lungs. Yet he was breathing, and he was fully conscious.
"Where am I?" he asked himself, but his voice didn't come out. It seemed as if the voice itself had disappeared into this strange world.
Then he heard it.
A voice as deep as thunder, yet as quiet as the whisper of the wind.
"Finally, I'm awake."
Ethan turned suddenly to find someone standing before him. He wasn't an ordinary man—he was translucent, as if he were made of the same blue fog. His eyes glowed with an eerie light, and his features looked very ancient, as if he had lived through time itself.
"Who... who are you?" Ethan managed to speak this time, though his voice sounded strange in this place.
The old man smiled, but his smile was uneasy. It was like the smile of a beast playing with its prey before devouring it.
"You've heard of me, but you don't remember. I'm the Guardian of the Void, the last remaining bearer of legendary powers."
"Legendary powers?" Ethan hesitated.
"Yes. The six that vanished from the world long ago. But it seems fate chose you to carry one of them."
Ethan felt a pang of anxiety pierce his chest. This was all so strange. Just a moment ago, he'd been fighting for his life against zombies, and now he was here, in this mysterious world, talking to an entity he didn't know was friend or foe.
"Why me?" he asked cautiously.
"Because you lived to the end," the old man replied simply. "And because when faced with death, you didn't give up. That's what the Void seeks—an unbreakable will."
Ethan didn't fully understand, but he felt this entity wasn't lying. There was something in his eyes... something ancient and wise.
"And what do you want from me now?"
The old man smiled again, this time with a hint of defiance.
"I want to test you. If you pass, I'll give you another chance. A chance to change everything."
"Another chance?"
"Yes. Go back to the past, to the moment when all this destruction began. But with a power that will make you something more than just human."
Ethan felt his heart pound. Going back to the past? Changing the future? It seemed like an impossible dream.
"And the test?"
The old man raised his hand, and in a flash, a vast battlefield appeared around them. Hundreds of zombies suddenly swarmed out of nowhere, advancing slowly but relentlessly.
"You have to survive," the old man said simply.
"How?! I don't even have a weapon!"
The old man nodded, and in Ethan's hand, a long spear suddenly appeared. But it wasn't an ordinary weapon—it was composed of glowing blue energy, as if forged from the void itself.
"This Void Spear will be an extension of your will. Use it wisely."
Before Ethan could say anything else, the old man disappeared, leaving him alone before the advancing zombie army.
Ethan sighed deeply. He had no choice.
He raised the spear and prepared for battle.
The battle was brutal. Every strike he made with the Void Spear tore the zombies to shreds, but they were relentless. With every one that fell, two more came to replace it. Ethan grew tired, but he didn't stop.
Then the monster appeared.
It was bigger than the rest, and stronger. An S-rank zombie, as the old man described it. It attacked Ethan furiously, and every strike nearly killed him. Ethan tried stabbing it repeatedly, but the wound healed instantly.
"That's impossible!" Ethan shouted. "He doesn't die!"
He heard the Old Man's laughter in his head.
"Fool. I gave you the power of the Void, and yet you fight like a normal human."
Ethan paused for a moment. Then he realized.
The spear wasn't just a weapon.
It was an extension of his power.
He closed his eyes, feeling the energy flowing through him. Then, in a flash, the monster was gone—torn to tiny atoms in the void.
The rest of the zombies fell one by one, until the arena was empty.
The Old Man appeared again, and this time, his eyes held something new.
Respect.
"Interesting," he said quietly. "Maybe you miscalculated."
"Did you succeed?" Ethan asked, panting.
"Yes. And now, it's time for your reward."
The old man raised his hand, and suddenly, everything around Ethan began to melt.
Then...
## **Awakening in the Past**
Ethan suddenly opened his eyes.
He was standing on a busy street, surrounded by gleaming skyscrapers. The sun was shining, and people were walking around him fearlessly.
But what stunned him most of all was the date on a huge billboard.
**August 27, 2098.**
The day it all began.
The day the Emperor of Destruction awoke and unleashed the virus.
But that wasn't the only thing that was different.
Ethan felt something strange in his body. A new power.
He raised his hand and concentrated for a moment.
Then, before his eyes, the void itself split, forming a small portal.
The legendary ability.
**Control Space.**
Ethan smiled.
"This is my chance... not just to survive, but to change everything."..